U.S. patent application number 12/453701 was filed with the patent office on 2010-06-17 for wheel cover arresting device.
Invention is credited to Chen-Chun Chen.
Application Number | 20100148569 12/453701 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 42239622 |
Filed Date | 2010-06-17 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100148569 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Chen; Chen-Chun |
June 17, 2010 |
Wheel cover arresting device
Abstract
This invention relates to an wheel cover arresting device in
which a plurality of retaining sockets are integrally formed at the
rear side of the wheel cover body. Each retaining socket is
pivotedly connected with a catch member at one end, and the other
end of the catch member abuts against a groove provided on the
wheel cover body. Furthermore, a wave-shape elastic portion with
definite elastic force is formed on each catch member. Two ends of
each catch member abut against the wheel disk body and the wheel
cover body respectively after the completion of assembly process.
An appropriate force has to be applied so as to detach the wheel
cover body from the front side of the wheel disk body. This can
also ensure that the wheel cover body will not easily be stripped
from the wheel disk body. It is the elastic portion of the catch
members that provide the appropriate definite elastic force to
allow the catch members to firmly abut between the wheel disk body
and the wheel cover body and to enhance the stability of this
abutment.
Inventors: |
Chen; Chen-Chun; (Tainan
City, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
ROSENBERG, KLEIN & LEE
3458 ELLICOTT CENTER DRIVE-SUITE 101
ELLICOTT CITY
MD
21043
US
|
Family ID: |
42239622 |
Appl. No.: |
12/453701 |
Filed: |
May 20, 2009 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
301/37.34 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B60B 7/105 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
301/37.34 |
International
Class: |
B60B 7/08 20060101
B60B007/08 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Dec 16, 2008 |
TW |
097222561 |
Claims
1. A wheel cover arresting structure, comprising an wheel cover
body, an wheel disk body, and a plurality of catch members, said
wheel cover body having a plurality of retaining sockets each of
which is formed with a pivot coupling portion, each catch member
being formed with pivot joints at one end which are pivotedly
mounted on said pivot coupling portion, and the other end of said
catch member being firmly abutted against a groove formed on the
wheel disk body, wherein each catch member is formed with an
elastic portion.
2. A wheel cover arresting structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein
each retaining socket is formed with a cavity for being inserted by
said catch member.
3. A wheel cover arresting structure as claimed in claim 2, wherein
the inner wall of the cavity is contracted from the top end face
toward the bottom end face to form a ramp.
4. A wheel cover arresting structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein
said pivot joint of each catch member is formed with a bending
portion of circular arc shape.
5. A wheel cover arresting structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein
said pivot joint of each catch member is formed with a bending
portion of right angle shape.
6. A wheel cover arresting structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein
the pivot coupling portion of said retaining socket is extending
edges, and the pivot joint of each said catch member has a blocking
portion to be caught with the pivot joint of the retaining
socket.
7. A wheel cover arresting structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein
the pivot coupling portion of each said retaining socket is a
cylindrical rod and the pivot joints of the catch member is of claw
shape, said pivot joints being pivotedly mounted on said pivot
coupling portion.
8. A wheel cover arresting structure as claimed in claim 7, wherein
said retaining socket has a plurality of support elements
penetrated by the pivot coupling portion of the retaining
socket.
9. A wheel cover arresting structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein
said elastic portions of each catch member are of circular arc
shape and are arranged alternately.
10. A wheel cover arresting structure as claimed in claim 1,
wherein said pivot coupling portion of the wheel cover body is an
opening provided at the inner side of the cavity, and said pivot
joints of the catch member is opposite strip elements, a hook is
provided at each pivot joint for locking with the pivot coupling
portion.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] This invention relates to a wheel cover arresting device,
particularly to a wheel cover arresting device which can arrest the
wheel cover body onto the front side of the wheel disk body and
enhance the stability by means of catch members.
[0003] 2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
[0004] Wheel disks provided on the lower part of car is not a main
part of car body, but is closely linked with car performance and
car manipulation. Not only there is impartible relationship between
the size of wheel disk and the aspect ratio of wheel, but also the
weight of wheel itself affects the acceleration performance of car.
What is more, wheel disk plays a decisive role in total appearance
and design of a car. Accompanying with the progress of material
science, wheel disk has been evolved from an iron disk at early
stage to one made by high level material such as aluminum alloy or
aluminum magnesium wheel disk nowadays, and manufacturing method is
change from casting at former stage to forging today. Furthermore,
multi-element wheel disk represents the symbol of high performance.
Therefore, the car emphasizing high-speed is often seen that its
wheel disks are exposed to the outside of the wheel arch to enable
the widening of the wheel track. In this manner, the widened wheel
track can avoid the weight center of the car from changing over
when making a turn running on curved road so as to enable the
raising of turning speed limit for car.
[0005] The above wheel disk is arrested with a wheel cover.
Referring to FIG. 14 of a Taiwanese Patent Gazette No. 475,521
entitled "Wheel Cover Arresting Structure", the wheel cover
arresting structure comprises: a plurality of retaining sockets (5)
each having a hole (51) provided on the annular edge of the wheel
cover; a plurality of catch members (6) separately provided, each
of which has a base (61), two side wings (62) being respectively
formed on both sides of the base (61), one end of each side wing
(62) having a retaining portion (63) and the other end having a
hook (64), a plate (65) being formed on the base (61) in such a
manner that the gap formed between the plate (65) and the retaining
portion (63) can clip the peripheral edge of wheel rim. With the
above structure, when the hooks (64) of the side wings (62) of the
catch member (6) are inserted into the holes (51), two hooks (64)
slightly contracted inwardly according to its elasticity until the
hooks (64) pass through the holes (51) on the retaining socket (5).
Then the two hooks (64) expand outwardly and are blocked at the
rear end of the retaining socket (5). Thus, the catch member (6) is
arrested.
[0006] However, the above wheel cover arresting structure suffers
the following defects in practical application: [0007] 1. In the
above wheel cover arresting structure, the hooks of the catch
member are inserted into the holes of each retaining socket and are
blocked at the rear end of the retaining socket by the elasticity
itself. However, the elasticity of the hooks is quite restricted so
that the arresting might be unstable. [0008] 2. The above wheel
cover arresting structure is to arrest the wheel cover by inserting
the catch member into the retaining socket. However, the irregular
structure of the catch member will occupy substantial large space
for the integral assembled and packed volume of the same.
Therefore, business competitiveness will become vulnerable due to
the increasing transportation cost. [0009] 3. In view of bigger
volume after packing, wheel covers stacking together take bigger
storage space. Thus, cost-up will be caused by bigger storage
space, additional handling and transportation in factory.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] In view of the above defects, this invention provides a
wheel cover arresting device having a plurality of catch members
used to arrest the wheel cover body onto the front side of the
wheel disk body, so that the wheel cover will not be stripped from
the wheel disk can be ensured. Besides, stacking of wheel covers is
not negatively affected by the height of the catch member so that
space saving is possible. The elastic force owned by the catch
members is to ensure good abutment between the wheel cover body and
the wheel disk body so as to enhance the stability during
abutment.
[0011] A preferred embodiment of the wheel cover arresting device
according to the present invention is characterized in that the
wheel cover arresting device has an wheel cover body and an wheel
disk body, a plurality of retaining sockets being integrally formed
at the rear side of the wheel cover body, each retaining socket
being pivotedly connected with a catch member at one end and the
other end of the catch member being abutted against a groove
provided on the wheel cover body, a wave-shape elastic portion
having opposite peaks being formed on each catch member to provide
each catch member with definite elastic force.
[0012] According to the first embodiment of the wheel cover
arresting device of the present invention, the pivot-coupling
portion of each retaining socket is the extending edges, and the
pivot joints of each catch member has blocking portion which is
caught with the extending edges of the retaining socket.
[0013] According to the first embodiment of the wheel cover
arresting device of the present invention, the pivot coupling
portion of each retaining socket is a cylindrical rod and the pivot
joints of each catch member is of claw shape which pivotedly
mounted on the cylindrical rod.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing the stacking state of
wheel cover bodies of the present invention.
[0015] FIG. 2 is a perspective exploded view showing the retaining
socket and the catch member of the first embodiment of the present
invention.
[0016] FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the assembly of the
retaining socket and the catch member of the first embodiment of
the present invention.
[0017] FIG. 4 is a view showing the rotation state of the catch
member of the first embodiment of the present invention.
[0018] FIG. 5 is a view showing the state of the catch member of
the first embodiment of the present invention, before the catch
member is abutted against the groove.
[0019] FIG. 6 is a view showing the state of the catch member of
the first embodiment of the present invention, when the catch
member is abutted against the groove.
[0020] FIG. 7 is a view showing the state of the catch member of
the first embodiment of the present invention, after the catch
member is abutted against the groove.
[0021] FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing the assembly of the
retaining socket and the catch member of the second embodiment of
the present invention.
[0022] FIG. 9 is a perspective exploded view showing the retaining
socket and the catch member of the third embodiment of the present
invention.
[0023] FIG. 10 is a perspective exploded view showing the retaining
socket and the catch member of the fourth embodiment of the present
invention.
[0024] FIG. 11 is a perspective exploded view showing the retaining
socket and the catch member of the fifth embodiment of the present
invention.
[0025] FIG. 12 is a perspective exploded view showing the retaining
socket and the catch member of the sixth embodiment of the present
invention.
[0026] FIG. 13 is a sectional view showing the assembly of the
retaining socket and the catch member of the sixth embodiment of
the present invention.
[0027] FIG. 14 is a perspective exploded view of a prior art.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0028] The objects, the technical contents and the expected
effectiveness of the present invention will become more apparent
from the detailed description of the preferred embodiment in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
[0029] Firstly referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 showing the first
preferred embodiment of the wheel cover arresting device according
to the present invention, it comprises a wheel disk body (1) as
shown in FIG. 5, an wheel cover body (2) and a plurality of catch
members (3).
[0030] The wheel disk body (1) is made of metal material by means
of casting or forging, grooves (11) are formed respectively at the
outer edges of the front and the rear sides of the wheel disk body
(1) by bending the outer edges inward so that the catch members (3)
can abut against the grooves (11). Then, the wheel cover body (2)
can be arrested onto the front side of the wheel disk body (1).
[0031] The wheel cover body (2) is a disk having a convex surface,
which is formed integrally with a plurality of retaining sockets
(21) at the peripheral edge of its rear side. Each retaining socket
(21) is a rectangular box type body which has a height
approximately equal to the distance from the center point of the
wheel cover body (2) to the peripheral edge. In this manner, the
stacking height of wheel cover bodies (2) can be reduced so as to
save storage space in factory. A cavity (22) with rectangular
opening is formed in the interior of each retaining socket (21),
which has a ramp (221) slanted from the top end face to the bottom
end face. In addition, edge portions acted as pivot coupling
portions (23) are provided at both sides respectively of each
retaining socket for seizing with the pivot joints (32) of each
catch member (3).
[0032] The cross sectional area of each catch member (3) is smaller
than that of each cavity (22) of the wheel cover body (2) so that
each catch member (3) placed inside the cavity (22) has enough
space to rotate. Both circularly shaped inner side edge (31) and
outer side edge (311) are formed at the front and rear ends
respectively of each catch member (3). The inner side edge (31) is
formed, respectively at both ends, with pivot joints (32) which are
arch shape stripe bodies parallel to both sides of each catch
member (3) and are connected with bent portions (321). A blocking
portion (322) opposite to the inner side edge (31) is provided on
the terminal of each pivot joint (32), which is catching with the
pivot coupling portion (23) of the wheel cover body (2). Moreover,
an elastic portion (33) of wave-shape with its peaks opposite to
each other is formed between the inner side edge (31) and the outer
side edge (311) of each catch member (3). By means of the elastic
portion (33), each catch member (3) is applied with definite
elastic force which allows the catch member (3) to conduct firm
abutment between the wheel disk body (1) and the wheel cover body
(2), and to enhance the stability of the abutment.
[0033] Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, when performing the assembly, the
inner side edge (31) of each catch member (3) is inserted into the
cavity (22) of each retaining socket (21) formed on the peripheral
edge of the wheel cover body (2) and is abutted against the inner
side wall of the cavity (22), and the blocking portion (322) at the
inner side of each pivot joint (32) is caught with corresponding
pivot coupling portion (23). Inasmuch as the cross sectional area
of each catch members (3) is smaller than that of each cavity (22)
of the wheel cover body (2), so that each catch member (3) can be
rotated in the cavity (22) with the inner side edge (31) as the
center. Then, the inner and outer side faces of each catch member
(3) close or even lean against the ramp (221) within the cavity
(22), i.e., each catch member (3) is rotated to allow the outer
side edge (311) lean against the wheel cover body (2). Therefore,
the wheel cover bodies (2) assembled in the same manner can be
stacked together to form laminar structure. Because the height of
each retaining socket (21) is approximately equal to the distance
from the center point of the wheel cover body (2) to the peripheral
edge, the stacking height of the wheel cover bodies (2) can be
reduced so as to save storage space in factory. Therefore, the
transportation cost either in export delivery or multi-stage inland
delivery can be reduced remarkably.
[0034] In the implementation of combining the wheel cover body to
the wheel disk body, as shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, each catch member
(3) is firstly rotated in the cavity (22) of the retaining socket
of the wheel cover body (2) with the inner side edge (31) as the
rotation axis, and the outer side face of each catch member (3)
leans against the ramp (221) at the outside of the cavity (22) so
that the outer side edge (311) is slanted to the rear side of the
wheel cover body (2). Then, the wheel cover body (2) with the catch
members (3) is moved to the front side of the wheel disk body (1)
and the outer side edge (311) of each catch members (3) is abutted
firmly against the groove (11) of the wheel disk body (1). Next,
the wheel cover body (2) is pressed so as to be arrested on the
front side of the wheel disk body (1). Thus, each catch member (3)
is moved by the retaining socket (21) to rotate so that the outer
side edge (311) of each catch member (3) is slanted to the wheel
cover body (2) and is abutted firmly against the outer side of the
groove (11). Each catch member (3) is formed with a wave-shape
elastic portion (33) having definite elastic force by which each
catch member (3) can be compressed a certain amount for easy
rotation of the catch members (3). Also, an appropriate abutting
force can be provided by the elastic force generated by the elastic
portion (33) after the completion of assembling. On the other hand,
if the wheel cover body (2) is to be detached from the front side
of the wheel disk body (1), each catch member (3) is moved by the
retaining socket (21) to rotate with the outer side edge (311) of
each catch member (3) as the rotation axis. However, since the
inner side edge (31) and the outer side edge (311) at both ends of
each catch member (3) are abutted firmly against the groove (11) of
the wheel disk body (1) and the cavity (22) of the wheel cover body
(2) respectively, it is not impossible to obtain enough space for
each catch member (3) to rotate. Therefore, appropriate force is
required to pull the wheel cover body (2) apart so that the outer
side edge (311) of each catch member (3) is forced to move toward
the inner side of the groove (11) so as to obtain enough space
required for each catch member (3) to rotate. Then, the wheel cover
body (2) can be detached from the front side of the wheel disk body
(1). With this structure, the wheel cover body (2) can be stably
installed on the front side of the wheel disk body (1) by means of
catch members (3). In this manner, the wheel cover body (2) can
resist the wind drag happened during the driving of car so as not
to be stripped from the wheel disk body (1).
[0035] FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing the second preferred
embodiment of the wheel cover arresting structure of the present
invention. The difference of this embodiment with the first
preferred embodiment is that the pivot joints (32) of each catch
member (4) are formed with a continuous bending portion (323) of
right angle shape. FIG. 9 is a schematic view showing the third
embodiment of the present invention. Each retaining socket (24) is
provided with a plurality of support elements (241) at the front
side, a cylindrical rod acted as the pivot coupling portion (242)
is penetrated through the support elements (241). A plurality of
pivot joints (41) of claw shape are provided oppositely and
alternately on the upper and lower sides of the rear end of each
catch member (4), and the pivot joints (41) of each catch member
(4) are pivotedly mounted on the pivot coupling portion (242) of
the retaining socket (24). Thus, each catch member (4) is rotated
with the pivot coupling portion (242) of the retaining socket (24)
as the rotation axis such that operator can conduct the arresting
operation. Each catch member (4) is also formed with a wave-shape
elastic portion (42) having definite elastic force. FIG. 10 is a
schematic view showing the fourth embodiment of the present
invention, while FIG. 11 the fifth embodiment of the present
invention. Comparing to the other preferred embodiments, the
difference is that the elastic portions (34), (43) of each catch
member (3), (4) of the fourth and fifth embodiments are of circular
arc shape and are arranged alternately, i.e., the elastic portions
(34), (43) are in parallel connection state. Thus, higher
equivalent elastic coefficient can be obtained so as to get
excellent elastic force and abutting force which can resist higher
external force. FIGS. 12 and 13 are schematic views showing the
sixth embodiment of the present invention. As shown in these
figures, each pivot coupling portion (25) of the wheel cover body
(2) is an opening located at the center of the inner side of the
cavity (22), and the pivot joint (35) of each catch member (3) is a
number of strip elements provided at the center of the inner side
edge (31), which are opposite to the pivot coupling portion (25). A
hook (351) is provided at the end of each pivot joint (35) for
locking with the pivot coupling portion (25) of the wheel cover
body (2). However, the abovementioned embodiments and drawings are
not restrictive to the scope of the present invention. Appropriate
variations and modifications made by the person having general
knowledge in the art, such as aspect of product, pivot joint
structure or quantity of the retaining socket and catch member,
without departing from the spirit and scope of the present
invention are still considered to be further embodiments of the
present invention.
[0036] Based on the foregoing, the wheel cover arresting structure
has the advantages set forth below when compared with prior
art.
[0037] 1. After completion of assembling, each catch member rotates
in such a manner that two ends of each catch member respectively
abut firmly against the wheel disk body and the wheel cover body.
Thus, the wheel cover body can be arrested stably on the front side
of the wheel disk body. Therefore, wheel cover body can resist the
wind drag happened during the driving of car so as not to be
stripped from the wheel disk body.
[0038] 2. Each catch member is formed with an wave-shape elastic
portion which can provide the catch member with definite elastic
force to conduct firm abutment between the wheel disk body and the
wheel cover body, and to enhance the stability of the abutment.
[0039] 3. The stacking of wheel covers of the present invention is
not negatively affected by the height of each catch member. So, the
stacking height of wheel covers can be reduced so as to save
storage space in factory. Therefore, the transportation cost either
in export delivery or multi-stage inland deliveries can be reduced
remarkably.
[0040] Summing up above, the wheel cover arresting structure
according to this invention can reach expected effectiveness, and
the specific configurations disclosed herein have yet not seen in
the prior art of the same category of product, even has not been
opened to the public before application.
* * * * *